choose joy

lately i've been reading, watching the nightly news

don't seem to find the rhythm, just wanna sing the blues

feels like a song that never stops

feels like it's never gonna

gotta get that fire, fire, back in my bones

before my heart, heart, turns into stone

.....

oh, hear my prayer tonight, i'm singing to the sky

give me strength to raise my voice, let me testify

oh, hear my prayer tonight, 'cause this is do or die

the time has come to make a choice

and i choose joy

.....

though i walk through the valley of the shadow of night

oh, with You by my side, i'm stepping into the light

i choose joy

.....

i need that joy, joy, joy, joy

down in my heart, down in my heart to stay

joy│for KING & COUNTRY

CHOOSE JOY.

this has become a particular maxim or motto for me, especially during this year. it was one of my new years resolutions. i even wrote a college essay on why joy is my favorite word.


this post is about how important it is for us to choose to be joyful, every day. being joyful doesn't mean that you're happy all the time. cuz everyone knows that is not possible.


happy. 
     feeling or showing pleasure or contentment


joy. 
     an emotion that’s acquired by the anticipation, acquisition or even the expectation of something great or wonderful 

from the web ;)

HAPPINESS is a feeling, sort of a rush of euphoria when you do something that you enjoy, when you read a book you love, when you watch a favorite movie. when suddenly, the world feels okay and everything around you is great. it doesn't last, though. i liken it to when you drink coffee, like the rush of caffeine you get. 

JOY, on the other hand, is a long-lasting emotion, something you can have no matter how dark or hopeless a situation. it's holding onto the belief that God's in control no matter what, and while you don't feel happy or don't know when you'll feel happy again, you can have joy. 

 may the God of hope fill you with all

joy and peace as you trust

in Him, so that you may overflow with

hope by the power of the

Holy Spirit. 

romans 15:13

personally, this hit close to home. i realized that too often, i would wake up and feel grouchy or just "out of sorts". and that's how the rest of the day would go. or when something goes wrong and you feel just down. i struggle with this a lot. and it's okay. 

i'm not saying that you can't ever feel sad or blah, because those are normal human emotions. we're supposed to feel sad. we're supposed to get angry. we're supposed to feel frustrated and just done. it's normal. 

but even when you are, hold onto the fact and truth that God is watching over you. that even when it feels like things are spiraling out of control, it's going to be okay. 

it doesn't matter if you wake up and feel irritated or annoyed or sad. you have the power to choose to be joyful, to act joyful towards your family, to realize that no matter how tired or frustrated you feel, that you can make the choice to be joyful. 

 though you have not seen Him, you love Him;

and even though you do not see Him now,

you believe in Him and are

filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy.

1 peter 1:8

it's definitely not easy, but it's a choice that we can make. one that i'm trying to make every day. it helps me to write it on my wrist, so i can look down and be reminded at key moments to be joyful. i then remember how lucky i am, to have such a wonderful (and yes, loud and occasionally obnoxious xD) family, to have a job, to own my favorite books. i know it's not the same, but i often link joy with gratefulness. 

i hope that i've made sense here. it's a tricky topic, and one that i'm very passionate about. but it's hard to express my feelings into words, and i hope that y'all get what i'm trying to say. ;) 

so, what do you think?

really hope i've

made sense, xD

merry christmas,

allison